Page 41 of Fletcher

“Maybe that explains how I was able to pull you from the sea while I was standing at the top of a cliff.” She regarded the mess she’d made around them. “That’s why you’ve been filling the buckets, too.”

“Until you may control the boon, the water shall help gather the enchantment.” He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but then began picking up the buckets to put them away.

Lark went to help him, and out of the corner of her eye saw a shadow move across the top of the inner curtain wall. She’d noticed the same thing several times just before Shaw made an appearance, and right on cue the chieftain came walking into the lists at the exact same spot just below the wall. She’d already sensed the strong bond between her lover and his older brother, and Shaw had always been very nice to her. Something about him seemed different than the other MacMar men, although she couldn’t say what it was.

“Fair evening, Mistress.” The chieftain bowed to her. “Might I borrow my brother a moment?”

“Of course.” To her lover she said, “I’ll finish the clean-up.”

Once the two men walked into the stronghold, Lark collected the rest of the buckets and stowed them behind the water barrels. She couldn’t do anything about the water that had spilled, she thought, and in a few spots it had turned the ground into mud. Out of curiosity she crouched down and touched one of the puddles, and watched it come alive with blue and green glints of magic. As she stood, she tried to lift the water from the soil, just to see what would happen.

Tiny streams of water rose from the puddle, twisting around her like a reversed rain shower. The drops glittered as they reflected the torch light, and floated away rather than up in the air. Slowly they formed the shape of a tall man who looked so much like Shaw she wondered if she had somehow created him.

Dinnae fear me, lass.

The voice in her head was the same one that had spoken to her when she was drowning in Bethesda Fountain, Lark realized.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said honestly. “I’m grateful. Thank you for saving my life.”

’Twas your wish.

The man-shaped column of water reached out to her, and Lark took hold of his shimmering hand. In the next instant she stood at the edge of a beautiful forest filled with young women sitting beneath huge, gorgeous trees. The gowns they wore appeared gossamer, and yet had been embroidered with jewel-colored threads so shiny they might have been spun from actual gemstones. In their long, dark hair they wore crowns of flowers, which framed faces so beautiful and flawless she knew they couldn’t be human.

The man who looked so much like Shaw came into the forest, drawing all of the women to him. He smiled and listened to them as they chatted away to him in a strange language, and patted a few on the head as if they were his pets. When he left, all of the women watched him, their happy expressions turning to obvious despair.

I couldnae love them, nor send them away, the man made of water murmured. ’Twas all she left me, her ladies.

The sky turned from day to night over and over as the scene repeated. Each time the man came the women tried to engage him. In turn he treated them with kind indifference. It seemed to Lark that his visits made the women more and more unhappy.

They love him, but he doesn’t see it, or he doesn’t care.

Dark clouds stretched out over the forest, blotting out the sun and bringing all the women to their feet. They looked terrified as lightning struck several of the trees, and then gathered in the center of the forest, holding each other as the last of the light faded away. Something changed their emotions from fear to overwhelming sadness. One by one they kissed each other’s cheeks, and walked away, each one going to a tree and stepping into the trunk. A few moments later all the women had vanished, and the trees began turning dark. Birds singing from the branches went silent and still, and squirrels froze on the trunks they’d been climbing. When the clouds cleared and the sunlight returned the forest had been turned to stone.

Their devotion for me became their prison. When I left them, they didnae wish live.

Lark turned to ask the man why he was showing this to her, only to see his body lose its shape and become a column of water again. It began to stretch over her, funneling itself from the ground to one of the water barrels. The next time she blinked the water had emptied into the barrel, and the ground appeared completely dry.

“I’ve some maids you need teach your skills,” Fletcher said as he joined her. Then, frowning, he put his arm around her. “Lass?”

“Sorry.” She should have been disturbed or confused by the strange experience, but instead it left her filled with sadness. “Are you done with Shaw?”

“Aye.” He kissed her temple. “Come inside now.”

Bered made his way from the shallows onto the shore of the islet, where a group of young Selseus stood waiting for him. He had suggested they gather above water so they could discuss the current problem quietly, but his true motive had been to avoid drawing notice from the rest of the settlement. Most of the young males had already reached the age when they experienced the urge to breed, which among their kind grew into a torment if not relieved. It had been easy to convince them that he cared about their quandary. If they refused to be guided, he would find other means with which to achieve what he wanted. Yet Bered suspected their youth and constant mating lust would compel them even more than anything he suggested.

Now, to make them believe his desire was theirs.

The males parted with gratifying speed as he walked up on the sand, each one bowing his head with the proper deference. They also watched him with eyes still bright with resentment over what he had discreetly confided to them. Their tension told him they had already discussed the matter among themselves, and now worried about how much to say to him.

“I’ve spoken with the king again,” he said as he perched on a rock to face them. Remaining informal among them helped the males believe them to be allies. “Merrick wishes honor the clan’s claim on the female they took from the bay before we could offer for her, as she possesses red hair. Since ’twas the second woman the MacMar stole from us, I’m grievous troubled now.”

“We cannae go against the king’s command,” one of the youngest men said, sounding sullen. “My sire warned me ’tis the same as declaring a rebellion.”

“Indeed, ’twas my thinking as well.” Bered sighed heavily. “We must respect my cousin’s efforts in keeping the peace. ’Tis but that I’ve no mate yet, just as you dinnae. My loneliness makes me long for the days before the landcrawlers dwelled beside us, when the waters and all that they contained belonged to the Selseus.”

“Surely you’re no’ so old, my lord,” the youngest said.

“Aye, I fear I’ll soon become an ancient.” He smiled at the young male. “’Twas when my sire took my màthair from a cove on the mainland, and changed her. She didnae go willingly with him, of course, but once transformed she happily accepted her new life. I never once saw her unhappy. Most of the females fared the same before times changed, as I recall my sire telling me. Do you ken that my màthair possessed red hair?”